Gobind: MCMC merely helping authorities in crackdown on porn

Gobind says MCMC will merely be helping the police and other relevant authorities upon request in taking action against pornographic websites. — Picture by Zuraneeza Zulkifli

SHAH ALAM, July 12 — The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) does not conduct on its own any surveillance or survey of pornographic websites, especially those offering child pornography, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.

It would only help the police and other relevant authorities upon request in taking action against pornographic websites, he said.

“MCMC will assist the authorities in certain cases. That’s their action. Even in online gambling too. When there’s any request, they will assist,” he said at a press conference after launching the Integrated Parcel Centre (IPC) expansion project here today.

An online portal reported that a new police unit, equipped with the latest technology right out of Mission Impossible movies, has been recently set up to sniff out online pornography.

It would locate and pinpoint in real time, 24/7, Internet users surfing these sites and build a “data library” of these individuals — what portals they frequent, how long they spend on the sites, and the files they upload and download — that will help the authorities in prosecuting them.

Police will pick up those who visit these sites regularly and use a software that was specially developed to allow them to identify, locate and track visits to porn sites, especially those involving child porn.

The intelligence will be passed on to the MCMC to obtain the Internet users’ details. — Bernama